Compared to last year, the cardamom yield this season, declined in Norgaygang Gewog, Samtse. This has not only deprived the farmers of an important source of income but also discouraged them from growing the crop, hereafter.
This year, farmers barely harvest 20 kilograms of cardamom from the same number of plants that used to produce about 80 kilograms before.
Unlike in the past, the approach of autumn, which is the start of cardamom harvesting season, no longer brings joy to the farmers of Norgaygang.
“I feel that when the plants need water, there’s no rain and when they don’t, it rains. The size of the cardamom has become smaller as well. The fruit has lesser seeds inside,” said a cardamom grower, Mon Bahadur Gurung.
Others said an unknown disease has been infecting the cardamom plants, thereby resulting in low yield. “We have tried our best to control it but it’s not working. Many households here grow cardamom for sustenance,” said Chandra Bahadur Gurung.
Currently, a kilogram of cardamom fetches only Nu 500. This is half the amount they got last year. Farmers predict that for the forthcoming season, the price along with the yield could go down as this has been the trend for the last couple of years.
About 90 percent of the households in the gewog still cultivate cardamom for commercial gains.
